Speaking topics from your book, chapter by chapter.
Event planners do not book big ideas. They book a solution to a problem their audience has this year. Here is how to turn chapters into talks they can say yes to, with templates for the title, the description and a one-page speaker sheet.
Start with a lane, not a topic
"How to become a keynote speaker" usually gets answered with advice about stage presence and speaker reels. Those matter, but they are not why most experts struggle to get booked. Most struggle because their topic is a subject ("leadership," "innovation," "resilience") rather than a problem someone is responsible for solving.
David Burkus, who has written five books and runs a speaking business that is most of his income, describes it this way in his Scribe story: event planners think in lanes and in the specific problem they are trying to solve this quarter. His advice on packaging yourself: "if you have this problem. I have this framework, this body of content, these takeaways, et cetera, that can meet that problem."
Your lane is the pairing of an audience and a problem: "sales leaders with new managers who are struggling," "hospital administrators losing nurses in the first year," "family business owners planning succession." If your book was positioned well, the lane is your positioning statement with the event planner in mind.
Write your lane as a sentence an event planner might say to a colleague: "Our members are struggling with ___, and we need someone who can help them ___." If you can fill both blanks with something specific, you have a lane.
Turning a chapter into a talk
A nonfiction book is usually several talks in disguise. Most chapters already have the three things a talk needs: a story, a point, and something the audience can do. The work is choosing which chapters, and cutting.
List your chapters against the lane
Next to each chapter title, write the problem it solves in the planner's words. Chapters that only make sense inside the book (history, your biography, definitions) are not talks.
Pick the chapter that solves the planner's problem most directly
This is your signature talk. Often it is the chapter that introduces your named method.
Find the opening story
One story, told well, from the chapter. Ideally one where the audience recognizes themselves in the first thirty seconds.
Cut to three takeaways
A chapter may have eight ideas. A 45-minute talk has room for three that people remember. Keep the ones the audience can use the next day.
Write the title and description last
Use the templates below. The description is what the planner pastes into the program, so write it for them.
Say you wrote a book for nurse managers on keeping new nurses through their first year. Chapter 4, "The First 90 Days," explains a weekly check-in you call the Ten-Minute Round. Your lane: hospital nursing leaders losing new graduates. The talk:
Title: "Why new nurses leave in year one, and the ten-minute habit that keeps them"
Opening story: the unit that lost four of six new graduates in one year, and what the exit interviews said.
Takeaways: what new nurses need to hear in week one; how to run the Ten-Minute Round; the three warning signs that a new nurse is about to leave.
Second talk, same lane: Chapter 7 on charge nurse training becomes a half-day workshop, "Building charge nurses who keep new graduates."
Talk title templates
A good talk title does what a good book subtitle does: names the audience or the problem, and the result. These shapes work; examples are hypothetical.
| Template | Example |
|---|---|
| Why [problem happens], and [how to fix it] | Why new nurses leave in year one, and the ten-minute habit that keeps them |
| [Result] without [what they dread] | Growing your book of business without cold calling |
| The [named method]: [result] | The Late Order Audit: five questions that find why orders slip |
| What [group] gets wrong about [topic] | What founders get wrong about culture after 50 employees |
| [Number] [things] every [audience] needs to [do] | Three conversations every new sales manager needs to have in month one |
Then write a description in four sentences: who it is for, the problem in their words, what they will leave with, and why you. For example: "For nursing leaders losing new graduates in their first year. Most new nurses who leave give the same reasons in exit interviews, and most units never hear them in time. Attendees leave with a weekly ten-minute check-in, a week-one script and three early warning signs. [Name] is a nurse manager and author of [Book], built on fifteen years running medical-surgical units."
Keynote, workshop, breakout
Offer the same idea in a few formats rather than many unrelated topics. Planners need different formats for different slots, and a consistent lane is what makes you memorable.
| Format | What it is for | How to build it from the book |
|---|---|---|
| Keynote | Whole audience, one big idea, energy and a clear takeaway | Signature chapter, one strong story, three takeaways |
| Breakout | Smaller room, a more specific problem | A single step of your method, with more detail |
| Workshop | Hands-on; people leave with something done | The worksheet or exercises from the book, run live |
| Fireside or panel | Conversation; a host asks questions | Your strongest stories, tied to the promise |
The one-page speaker sheet
Planners compare speakers quickly. A one-page sheet (a PDF and a page on your site) answers their questions in the order they ask them.
- Your name and one-line promise, from the promise guide
- Lane: the audiences you speak to, in one line
- Two or three talks: title plus the four-sentence description
- Formats and lengths you offer
- A 50 word introduction the host can read aloud (the bio builder writes one)
- A photo that matches the one on your book (see the photo guide)
- Proof: past events, short video clips, one or two quotes from organizers you have permission to use
- The book: cover, and whether bulk copies for attendees are available
- How to book: one email or form
What TEDx allows
Many authors want a TEDx talk, and it is worth knowing the rules before you pitch. TED's published TEDx rules say talks are typically under 18 minutes, with 3 to 9 minutes "ideal for a focused idea." They also say: "Speakers cannot promote their own products, books, or businesses," and that TEDx events "may neither pay nor charge speakers." A book can still inform the idea in a TEDx talk; it just cannot be the pitch.
Practically, that means a TEDx talk is the shortest, purest version of your idea, not a book promotion. Scott A. Martin's TEDx came after someone read Groundswell, found his podcast and offered him a slot; his story reports about half a million views. Stephen Butler's TEDx, his story says, "was only possible because of the work we had done on the book."
Source: TEDx rules, TED, checked October 20, 2026.
Scribe authors on stage
Each card links to the full story. These are strong results, not typical ones, and nobody can promise them. In each case the talks and the book shared one clear subject.
- Matt Shoup had been a paid speaker for years at four-figure fees. His agent was booking him at smaller events and waiting for a book that looked right. Once Painted Baby was published, he pitched and landed his first five-figure gig, and the agent put him on bigger stages.
- Ben Woodward wrote The Empowerment Paradox partly to differentiate himself from other speakers. Since the launch he has spoken to audiences in seven industries, from hospitality and residential care to higher education and mental health.
- Robin Farmanfarmaian treated speaking as the first division of her business and the book as the piece that added credibility to the rest. One of her vice president roles began when the founder of a medical company saw her speak and met her in the lobby afterward.
Getting the first bookings
- Give the signature talk wherever your lane gathers: industry associations, local chapters of professional groups, client events, podcasts. Record every one.
- Ask each host one question afterward: "What would make this more useful for your members next year?" Adjust the talk.
- Send the speaker sheet and a short clip to planners in your lane, with a line about the problem their audience has.
- Offer the book as part of the engagement, where the event allows it. Gui Costin makes every event a book signing. (read his story)
- Keep the lane narrow until bookings come from referrals. Widen later.
When a host asks for your introduction, send the 50 word version from your bio, not your full biography. They will read whatever you send, word for word.
Sources: TEDx rules; The Scribe Method, How writing a book can build your brand; author results from the linked Scribe success stories.